Powder Measures

[thebloodsonthewall]

I am looking into loading more accurate .308 ammo so I need to get a decent powder measure. I have just been using the dispenser on my 550 but it is not the most consistent thing. I don't need anything super fancy but I want something that will work well and not waste tons of time.

[pennys dad]

RCBS Competition Powder Measure if you want some serious accuracy

[nobs11]

I can't find the review right now, but someone reviewed the RCBS measure and the Hornady measure and came to the conclusion that they are both good for "most" uses, but are not precision measures. Upto 5% variance is easily possible.

In my experience, if you need 0.1gr accuracy, you need to weigh every charge. The RCBS Chargemaster is the only product on the market that does this easily. However, it won't do this at progressive loading speed.

[Jicko]

RCBS CM is not the *only* product.

A good electronic dispenser and an electronic scale will work.
- RCBS Chargemaster
- PACT High Speed Dispenser and Scale
- Lyman 1200 DPS3
etc.

About $200-$300.

[dbbspider]

+1 with Nobs11

for pin point accuracy, must weight every charge

[nobs11]

RCBS CM is not the *only* product.

A good electronic dispenser and an electronic scale will work.
- RCBS Chargemaster
- PACT High Speed Dispenser and Scale
- Lyman 1200 DPS3
etc.

About $200-$300.

I think the Lyman and the PACT is the same. Or RCBS and PACT is the same. I think there is only one or two companies that make that kind of product. There is one that has an integral scale and another that is a dispenser and you can use another scale with it.

I meant that type of product, not necessarily the same model. Thanks for clarifying.

Also, OP, make sure that your powder measure is static free. Static is the #1 culprit when it comes to inconsistent loads. Powdered graphite works. So does wiping the internals with a used fabric softener sheet. One of my Hornady powder measures was throwing erratic charges, until I cleaned it thoroughly and made sure there was no static. Now it drops within 0.1 to 0.2 grains.

[AC Gould]

Consider the Redding BR-3. Of all the measures I've tried, it seems to have the least variance with stick powders... (+-.1-2 grs.) Dillon offers an adapter for this to use with their presses. If you use ball type powder, most any of the quality measures will do well. I use a Neal Jones measure or an old Belding and Mull for loading @ the shooting bench. In general the finer the granulation of the powder, the more consistant a measure will be. The only other option is to weigh each charge or get one of the auto-weigh types of measure. Also, even if your powder charges are exactly the same, you probably will have some variance in weight of the bullets and the capacity of the brass. All this varience will tend to negate the exactness of your powder charge.

My $.02